ROCKFORD — Keep praying. That was the message tonight during a candlelight vigil on the grounds of OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center.

More than 200 family members and friends congregated in a circle on the heliport outside the hospital in prayer for Karen Williams.

The 42-year-old Rockford woman was critically injured Wednesday night by a speeding motorist in the 2000 block of South Perryville Road.

Occupants of the speeding vehicle, Ronaldo Fort, 19, DeAngelo Brooks, 19, and Bryant Locke, 20, were attempting to elude police after an armed robbery was committed at a Belvidere cellphone store. Police pursued the trio’s Pontiac GT into Winnebago County where it ran a red light at North CherryVale Mall Drive and South Perryville Road and struck Williams’ Honda Civic.

Those in attendance Friday spoke of Williams as a motivator with a passion for running, fitness and her high school alma mater, the Jefferson J-Hawks, for whom she created an alumni association and served as its president.

“It’s important to her for all of us to be together,” said Tammy Livingston, a class of 1990 graduate.

Williams served as a corporate attorney in Chicago before returning to Rockford a couple of years ago, said Dana Holman, a friend of Williams since seventh grade. Although Williams had only recently returned to Rockford, Holman said she was not surprised by Friday’s turnout. “She kept in touch with everybody.”

Friends said Williams created a network of contacts via Facebook and J-Hawks Nest, the official website of Thomas Jefferson High School Alumni Association, Inc.

Bobbilynn Vigdal called Williams “one of the most learned people I know. She will teach you something without you even realizing it.”

Jefferson Alumni Association Vice President Mike Winters drew laughter from the crowd when he recalled receiving a 2 a.m. phone call from Williams regarding the association only to be followed by a 4 a.m. email.

“I don’t know if she even sleeps and where her energy comes from,” he said. “I just know we need her back.”